‘Flames,’ Backed by Suparn S Varma, Impresses Audiences at Its Asian Premiere in Yogyakarta

December 5th, 2025: The Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival (JAFF) 2025 hosted the Asian Premiere of FLAMES, a tense and quietly devastating Indian survival-thriller presented by leading Indian filmmaker Suparn S Varma. The film, written and directed by emerging filmmaker Ravi Shankar Kaushik from Haryana, debuted to an amazing and highly appreciative response from the audience and festival delegates.

Flames is produced by Suparn S Varma, Rashi Aggarwal, Suunil Jaiin, Aditya Joshi (Phule, Maharana Pratap, 1947) and Shivam Gupta (Songs of the Forgotten Trees, Laar). The co-producers are IT professionals Jasdev Singh and Arpita Raghuwanshi. FLAMES brought together the creative strength of Alankritaa and Cult Digital, making it one of the standout South Asian films in this year’s festival lineup.

Shot in the textured farmlands of northern India, FLAMES is an intimate portrait of a family pushed to the edge. The film stars Vikram Kochhar (Boong, No Land’s Man) who delivers a quietly powerful performance. The ensemble of actors around him are non actors facing the camera for the first time, inhabitants of the villages of Jatauli and Lohari in Haryana. Kochhar’s restrained intensity balances Ravi’s grounded storytelling.

The tense and taut visual language of flames coupled with its commitment to authenticity and layered characters, FLAMES aligned with JAFF’s tradition of spotlighting Asian films that explore identity, inequality, and human resilience.

Flames births a new and exciting voice in Indian Cinema Director Ravi Shankar Kaushik, His vision is shaped by a strong creative team that includes cinematographer Anshul Uniyal, editor Manendra Lodhi, sound designers Yatrik Dave and Amet Vikram Bhandari, and music composer Advait Nemlekar.

The film was widely appreciated, awarded and recommended at Film Bazaar 2024, and was also one of the Work-in-Progress finalists at the Inaugural Tasveer Film Market in Seattle.

Speaking ahead of the Premiere, Kaushik said, “The idea for Flames began from a very personal space for me, but the film truly came to life when I met like-minded individuals who believed in the story and chose to support it. I had always envisioned shooting it in rural Northern India, against the layers of societal constructs that shape real lives every day. I wanted to tell a story about survival through the eyes of people who rarely find representation on screen.” Kaushik, a Mumbai-based filmmaker and engineer, wants to carve a niche for himself with work that blends genre elements with nuanced social critique. FLAMES marks his directorial feature debut after his short film Chuhedaani (Mousetrap).

Suparn S Varma, "What drew me to FLAMES was its emotional ferocity. It is a film that burns from within. Ravi has created a world that is lived-in, haunting, and painfully human. Supporting this film and bringing it to a platform like JAFF is a privilege, because it represents the kind of Indian independent cinema that deserves the world’s attention.” Producer Sunniil Jain shared, “Flames represents the kind of storytelling that cuts deep. It is tender, tense, and socially aware. Ravi brings a quiet urgency to the narrative, and it is exactly the kind of cinema we want back: honest, politically aware, and emotionally raw. Its Asian Premiere at JAFF is not just a milestone for the film, but a statement of where Indian indie cinema is headed.” Producer Shivam Gupta emphasised the importance of telling stories that reflect the deeper, quieter nuances of India’s heartland, “We wanted to make a film that is honest, uncompromisingly empathetic, and rooted in universal emotional truth. We are happy to be premiering in Indonesia, and I think a film like Flames, although set in Haryana, should connect with people everywhere as themes of Parenthood and survival are universally relevant.” FLAMES represented a new wave of socially anchored thrillers from South Asia. Its selection alongside Asia’s boldest voices reinforced India’s expanding and notable footprint across global festivals.

FLAMES screened in Yogyakarta as part of the JAFF 2025 Main Competition, with the cast and crew in attendance.

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